Not today

Zzzz

I am just awful at doing nothing. Duvet days make my skin crawl and the more I try to force myself into just switching off, the grumpier I get.

But I do crave slow mornings and all day pyjama parties, or at least the idea of them. I love the thought of watching my favourite movies all day, eating pancakes for lunch and rotating cups of tea and hot chocolate as time slips away.

But really, what ends up happening is this: I turn on the tv, open my laptop "just to quickly check something", hard drives are pulled out of my bag, notebooks become coasters for cold cups of tea and the tv is eventually muted because I can’t concentrate. But I'm all annoyed at myself for failing to switch off, so my work goes badly, ends up being useless, and the point of a day on the sofa is kind of lost.

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the mindst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

You stole my spot!

We do live in a hectic world, but I find it is so important to create space in my life so that I have room to breathe. If I don't take a moment to look up from the path I'm running along, I have sometimes failed to notice that I'm going the wrong way.

These are a few things I do to quiet my mind and give myself a chance to do nothing for a day – resting and recovering during The Quiet Winter is the most important thing.

Take some time out to do a bit of stretching. My mind and body are always a lot calmer after yoga.

Go out for a walk and get some head space, come back and get back into your pyjamas. Fresh air works miracles on the mind.

Have a long chat with a friend on the phone. It’s not easy to let your mind wander back to work when you have to keep up the other half of a conversation.

Take a long shower, I mean really long. My mind always calms down in water, maybe it’s the same for you? And then climbing back into my pyjamas after I’m all warmed up is the best feeling.

And if you must busy yourself, invest time in something that makes you feel taken care of. Cooking your favourite meal maybe, planning a dream holiday, putting together an exercise plan. Doing something that makes you feel like you’re investing in your future is such a great feeling, and the next best thing if you can't invest yourself in the moment.

Yawn sent me these pyjamas last weekend to try and I couldn't wait for them to arrive because pyjamas have been a favourite outfit choice of mine since I was little. I was excited because, new pyjamas, but also tentative because so often I'm a bit disappointed by uncomfortable/sweaty fabric or seems that stick into you at night. I have none of those complaints about this set - and of all the pyjamas I own, these are now the nicest and most comfortable of them all. Thanks Yawn!